Frank g



'(Ne Medel.) l

F. Gr. JOHNSON.

PORTABLE RAILWAY SWITCH.

Patented oeef 22 1889.

N. PETERS. Phvlvuthombhnr. Whinsmn, D. C.

UNITED STATES 4PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK G. JOHNSON, OF NEXV YORK, N. Y.

PORTABLE RAI LWAY-SWITCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 413,186, dated October 22, 1889.

Application led December 19, 1888. Serial No. 294,057. (No model.) Y

T0 @ZZ whom/ it nuty concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK G. JOHNSON, a citizen of t-he United States, residing in the city, county, and State of NewYork, have invented new and useful Improvements in Portable Railroad-Switches, of which the following is a specification. l

It is well known that side tracks. of railroads are a great convenience to manufacturers and farmers, as such side tracks laid opposite and near to their lands and works save transportation therefrom to the nearest depot, which in many cases is miles away. As extensive farmers and manufacturers are willing to bear the expense of side tracks, they would be more generally employed, except for the objections which railroad companies have to cutting vtheir .main track to put in local stationary switches. These objections are that such switches are expensive and in various ways greatly increase liability of destruction to rolling-stock and life of passengers.

The object therefore of my invention is to provide a portable switch which can be carried on a freight-train and handled by two men, and laid Clown at any point on the main track wherever there may be a siding, and

Without cutting or in any manner interfering with the main track, and yet serving the purpose equally as well as the stationary switch for switching` or transferring cars from the main to the side track, and vice versa, which I accomplish by the device illustrated in the accompanying drawings, consisting of one sheet, in which- Figure l is a pla-n view showing the main' and side tracks, which are permanently fastened to the road-bed, and the switch in position for use; Fig. 2, a side elevation of main piece of the switch; Fig. 3, an enlarged transverse section on the line :c x of Fig. l; Fig. 4, a bottom View of one of the switch-.pieces as seen in position in Fig. l; Fig. 5, an en` larged transverse sect-ion on the line y y' of Fig. 1. i

Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

A and A is the unbroken or main track; B B. and B, the side track, terminating adjacent to the main track within a few inches of the same, the side rail B B being broken and the broken ends separated to leave a space through which the corresponding rail A of the main track extends.

B and B3 are pieces of ordinary guardrails, commonly laid along the convex side of the main rails wherever the latter have a short curve.

F, Fig. 4, is a portable bridge-rail detached 6o from the rest of my device, and which consists of one piece, except the two set-screws g g. In Fig. 4 it is seen bottom side up, eX- posing its gutter-shaped form, it consisting of a top and vertical sides, the sides being diagonally cut away at its central portion just suflicient and at such an angle as to slip over and fit onto the head of the main rail A when in use, so that the top at f f will rest on top of the head of said main rail. The in- 7o side or gutter of this bridge-rail F is lmade to t the head of the side rails B B. Diagonally to its longitudinal line this bridge-rail has cast or forged upon its opposite sides two lugs g g, which two lugs stand transversely or at right angles opposite to each other, as they relate to the main rail A when the said bridgerail is in use, as seen on the line y y, Fig. l. Through these lugs work the set-screws g g, the points of which, when screwed up, bear 8o opposite to each other against the web of the said rail A, just under its head, as seen in Fig. 5, to prevent thepossibility of this bridgerail from jumping up as the cars pass over it. The top of this bridge-rail F is as thick at its center f f, where it bears on the main rail, as the depth of the flange of the car-wheels, and from this point toward both ends it gradually diminishes to a feather thickness, that the car-wheels may gently enter upon and pass 9o off of it. lts inner vertical side at is ends is also feathered down to prevent the liability of the iianges of the wheels striking abruptly against it in case the opposite guardrail B'rj should be to widely set from the side 95 rail B.

The other and principal part of my device consists of the rigid frame composed of the two switch-pieces C and D, united together by being riveted or bolted to the two fiat crossroo bars E and E.

D (which Iwill term the feathered switchpiece is a short piece of cast or forged steel, feathered at one end and of ordinary rail shape (partly out away longitudinally) at the other to butt up against the end of the side rail B. The base jp p of this feathered switch-piece extends outward toward the opposite rail far enough to rivet thereto the cross-bars E E and to add strength to the said piece. On the back of this feathered switch-piece, and being a part of the same, is a longitudinal rib d, (best seen in Fig. 3,) which,when the switch is laid for use, projects under the head of the main rail Al to prevent it (the said piece) from jumping up as the cars pass over it. The big or butting end of this piece is somewhat higher than the main rail A', as seen in Fig. 3, as also is the side rail B, to correspond therewith, for reasons hereinafter explained.

C (which I will term the switch bridgepiece is a peculiarly-shaped piece of cast or forged steel. This part of my device coinbines two important features-the bridge portion C, which joins the face of the main rail A to the face of the side rail B, (bridging the space between the1n,) and the guard-rail portion c c, which (when the switch is laid for use) forms a continuation of the guard-rail B3 of the side rail B, thus forming agroove for the ange of car-wheels between the bridge C and the guard-rail c c,which said continuation ofY the guard-rail B3 is absolutely indispensable, as will hereinafter appear. These two portions-the said bridge C and guard-rail c 0-are joined together as one piece by the solid portion or partition c3, (best seen in Fig. 3,) which extends the whole length, except for a short distance, where the said bridge passes onto the main rail A and guard-rail portion crosses the said main rail, as shown at sin Fig. l. The longitudinal form of these parts is that of a curve corresponding to the curve of the side rail B and its guard-rail B3, and terminating -for a short distance in a straight line, where they fall in line with the main rail A. The bridge portion of this switch bridge-piece is in the form of a gutter, suited in form to it over the head of the main rail A. (Best seen in Fig. 3, shown on the line x 0c of Fig. l.) The front vertical side of this gutter is continuous, as shown by Fig. 2, and

Y is provided With two lugs not far from the ends, which carry each a set-screw c c', which take effect one on the web of the main rail A on the line @c 0c and the other on the web of the side rail B to prevent this side of the switch from jumping up and to otherwise hold it in place. The back vertical side of this gutter is also continuous from end to end, except Where it comes in contact with the main rail A. This inner side is made thinner than the front side to prevent crowding the wheels too much toward the opposite side. It is also Vfeathered at the ends to prevent abrupt obstruction to the iianges of the car-wheels. The top of the bridge portion of this switch bridge-piece is as thick as the depth of the car-wheel flange along that portion where it crosses over the main rail A, as shown through the openings in Fig. 1,and in both directions from this portion it becomes thinner and thinner and terminates with feathered ends, so as not to abruptly obstruct the rolling of car-wheels thereon, as shown by the dotted line of the tops of the rails A and B. (Seen in Fig. 2.) The guard-rail portion c c of this switch bridge-piece is higher than the bridge portion thereof and corresponds with the height of the guard-rail B3. From the back of the guard-rail c c there extends down on the inside of the main rail A a continuous plate c4, which assists in giving strength to the structure and affording the projections c5 and c5, to which to fasten the connecting cross-bars E E. The butting end of the feathered switch-piece D is somewhat higher than the main rail to correspond with the rise of the wheels in passing over the switch bridge-piece C.

Having described the various parts of my device, the explanation of its operation and use is brie-fi y described as follows: When the switch is laid for use, whichever way the car is going--whether from the main to the side or from the side to the main trackthe Aflanges of the car-wheels .in passing the curve of the side track nearest to the main track will be held from liability of jumping the main railAor striking the portable bridge-piece F by being held therefrom by the guard-railc c and B3. To lay the switch down, the feathered switch-piece D is placed iirst against the main rail A', with its larger end against the end of the side rail B and then the switch bridge-piece C is dropped down upon the main rail A and side rail B and secured by the set-bolts c c. These setbolts will require to be only thumb set-bolts to hold the switch beyond all possibility of being misplaced until the said set-bolts are turned back from under the head of the rails A and B, while the other side of the switch D cannot be raised until its opposite side C is raised, on account of the rib CZ projecting under the head of the rail A. The portable brid ge-piece F cannot be vertically raised until its set-screws g g are turned back from under the head of the main rail A, and it cannot be laterally misplaced because of its vertical sides striding the side rail B', and it cannot be misplaced longitudinally because of theivertical sides striking against the main rail A where they stride the said rail.

I am of course aware of a patent granted and issued to me but a few days ago, December 4, 1888, No. 393,985, in which I claimed, in a portable railroad-switch, a bridge-rail formed and held in a manner different from that Yabove described, and in which said patent I also claimed some of the features contained and described in the foregoing speciiication. Therefore I do not herein claim so broadly as to embrace what is not new and IOO useful in the device described in this foregoing speciiication; but

What I do claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In a portable railroad-switch, the guttershaped bridge-rail F, having the lugsg g, setbolts g g', and Vertical sides diagonally cut away at f j' to stride the rnain track, in cornbination with the ends of the broken sidetrack rail B B, inain-track rail A, bridge switch-piece C, guard-rail c c, guard-rail B3, and feathered switch-piece D, the top of the said bridge-rail resting on the head of the said main rail, and being'laterally, vertically, and longitudinally held in place, substantially as described.

2. In a portable railroad-switch, the peculiarly-formed curved gutter-like bridge switch-piece C, having the guard-rail c cin line with the guard-rail B3, in combination with the main-track rail A and side-track rail B, whereby the said piece C, besides furnishing a bridge from the main-track rail A to the side-,track rail B, also furnishes a guardrail c c to keep the car-Wheels free from and from jumping the curve of the opposite rail formed by the feathered switch-piece D and the side-track Bi, as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a portable railroad-switch, the feathered switch-piece D, having the projection d to extend under the head of the main-track rail A, in combination with the switch bridgepice C, having the guard-rail c e, connectingbars E E, main track rail A and side-track rail B whereby, when the portable switch is laid for use, the said feathered switch-piece cannot be lifted or otherwise misplaced until the said bridge-piece C is raised from the rails A and B, as and for the purposes described.

4. In a portable railroad-switch, the pecu- -liarly-formed curved gutter-like switch-piece FRANK G. JOHNSONi Witnesses:

FRANK R. JOHNSON, HUNTINGTON PAGE; 

